I've been living in Japan for the past 8 years so I really have no idea. Texting was never very big here, at least not like it was back home. Everyone had email on their phones (back before the iphone). I'm just wondering as my mom doesn't have a data plan for her cell (crazy!) and she wanted to see if I could text her (I couldn't) which got me thinking about texting in general. I know westerners use to be crazy about texting but with it costing like 5c per text surely everyone has moved on to instant messaging apps like Whatsapp or LINE or the iPhone's messaging system right? Or do people still use the old fashioned text?

I text. I have unlimited family texting for $30 month that covers all 4 phones. If I got data plans for all 4 phones that would be $100+ dollar extra per month. No thanks. I pay for a data plan for my daughters phone and that is it.

I almost solely text. I have the minimum data plan and minimum amount of minutes. And unlimited texting. Which is good because I am about 3000 texts in for the month and my plan doesn't roll over until the 6th.

We pay for my niece's cellphone on our account as a small way of helping her out while she's in college. Some months ago she asked if we could activate texting for her if she paid the $10 monthly upcharge. Every month $10 shows up in my paypal account, so I assume she's happily texting her little heart out.

My wife pays for texting, too, but AFAIK she only sends a few per month, always work-related. Her company mainly uses yahoo instant messenger.

I don't pay for it and don't use it. Once or twice a month I receive a junk text. I think those cost me a dime apiece. Wish there was a way to block them.

I was under the impression that texting and relying on cellphones for such things if it didn't start in Japan it was at least huge - with the young people, especially girls. When I was a kid, there were articles and magazines about how ultra-modern the Japanese were (cellphones were just taking off here) texting each other, buying stuff with their phones, all of them having phones, etc.

13-year-old Japanese children had phones (I was 13 then myself and I was very envious) and when they weren't solving differential calculus problems and raising herds of Tamagotchi pets, they were texting! My image, at least.

Anyhoo, I personally text very little - maybe once a day. Usually in response to my wife's texts (she texts me about 50 times a day) but it may be an age thing (I'm 32, she's 23). I saw her Outgoing folder once and she had sent 20000 texts (but in her defense, it was a slow month).

At work, we mostly instant message. Or, rather, they do. THEN it comes in handy for scheduling and getting it in writing.

« Last Edit: September 01, 2013, 06:36:02 PM by JohnathanStrange »

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Ahh do they've stopped raping people for the ability to send texts, have they? When I was backbone Canada I think you paid per text or there was some ridiculous limited number, like 200 texts before you had to start paying for them. I don't think people text in Japan. They use their phones to send emails (which on the surface looks exactly likely texting) but most people these days have smartphones and tons of people use the LINE messaging app.

Ahh do they've stopped raping people for the ability to send texts, have they?

Oh no, they still do charge an arm and a leg and a foot if you don't have an 'unlimited, despite the entire texting system being based on your phone talking to the tower in the first place and therefore it's actually free for you, but we want more money' plan.

I also do FAR more texting than I do talking. By far. Hell - my current plan on T-Mobile is 100 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited (5GB before slowdown) data, for $30 a month.

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Ahh do they've stopped raping people for the ability to send texts, have they?

Oh no, they still do charge an arm and a leg and a foot if you don't have an 'unlimited, despite the entire texting system being based on your phone talking to the tower in the first place and therefore it's actually free for you, but we want more money' plan.

I also do FAR more texting than I do talking. By far. Hell - my current plan on T-Mobile is 100 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited (5GB before slowdown) data, for $30 a month.

most-if-not-all Canadian carriers give unltd incoming, ultd outgoing for north american SMS, with MMS being generally available at no extra charge above the most basic plans. Some even extend that beyond NA.

They still are far too expensive, which is why the gnashing of teeth is happening with Verizon entering the bidding was for bandwidth this november.

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"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners." - Johnny Carson

Ahh do they've stopped raping people for the ability to send texts, have they?

Oh no, they still do charge an arm and a leg and a foot if you don't have an 'unlimited, despite the entire texting system being based on your phone talking to the tower in the first place and therefore it's actually free for you, but we want more money' plan.

I also do FAR more texting than I do talking. By far. Hell - my current plan on T-Mobile is 100 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited (5GB before slowdown) data, for $30 a month.

Wow that's a great deal if you don't talk on the phone too much.

My phone (iPhone 5) also has wi-fi calling. So I don't even use my minutes when I'm at home.

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"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."